Artistic Gymnasts collect 21 golds
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Last updated 1st August 2005
Left to Right Coaches Jheni Weir, Stephanie Evanson, Jane Whetnall

Gymnasts: Harriet McWalter, Alex Sinclair, Mark Hughes, Claire Poole, Adam Audley, Alex Hitchings, Daniel Cooper, Bradley Evanson
Artistic Gymnasts from the Cheshire Academy did remarkably well winning a total of 21 gold, 14 silver and 4 bronze medals. Gymnasts competed at level A, 1 and 2 competitions.

Level A competition: Competing at the level A competition were gymnasts Harriet McWalter, Adam Audley and Bradley Evanson who were all competed in the under 12 age category

The level A competition is designed specifically for gymnasts with more pronounced disabilities. It comprises of Wide Beam, Floor, Tumble and Vault.

Controversially on day one of the competition the competition organiser decided that no tumble competition would be permitted.

No prior warning was given to the coaches who had gymnasts participating in this event. To make matter worse organisers then used the excuse that because they were not running a Tumble competition, then the gymnasts were not competing in every event so they could not possibly be allowed to compete in an All Round competition. Although the Judges were very happy to judge these routines and gymnasts had been practising for very many months the competition organiser refused to discuss the issue further.

This was a great pity as these level A routines are specifically designed for gymnasts with more acute difficulties. Harriet McWalter, Adam Audley and Bradley Evanson had been practising their tumbles for many months. The denial to allow these three gymnast to compete resulted in these three gymnasts being the only gymnasts in the whole competition denied the opportunity to compete in an all round competition a situation which reflects badly on special Olympics claim to allow participation at all levels.

(Right to Left) Daniel Cooper and Alex Sinclair won Silver and Bronze in the All Round Champion category
If Special Olympics wishes to continue to claim that it provides all levels of competition then it must take steps to ensure that these gymnasts with more acute disabilities are able to compete in an All Round competitions like all others.

Harriet McWalter performed a lovely floor routine to pick up a gold, and performed neat and tidy beam and vault routines to collect a further two silver medals.

Bradley Evanson who has autism did very well on the beam and floor.He performed an exceedingly high vault which he landed spot on. His endeavours allowed him to collect 3 silver medals and he did very well not allowing the crowd to distract him .

Adam Audley really pulled out the stops and really seemed to be enjoying the whole experience. Like Bradley he was able to ignore the crowds and turned out three outstanding performances on the Floor, Vault and Beam, he collected three golds however he was particularly upset at not being allowed to compete the tumble routine in spite of 18 months hard work.

Level 1 Competition: In the under 12 years section we saw Alex Sinclair and Daniel Cooper competing on all 6 pieces the Floor, Vault, Single Bar, Pommels, Parallel Bars and Rings. For both gymnasts this was their first opportunity to compete at a national games.

Alex Sinclair age 10 performed well on all pieces however an outstanding vault allowed him to collect a coveted Olympic gold medal. This upward circle on the single bar performed neatly and cleanly secured him silver and a neat and tidy dismount on the p bars also secured silver. His overall performance secured an All Round Bronze for his efforts.

Alex Hitchings All Round National Champion in the under 16 category (level 1)
Daniel Cooper age 10 also performed well although he heeds to improve his upper body strength. His neatness and tenacity secured 5 gold medals and a silver. His floor routine was particularly well executed allowing him to collect an All Round Silver for his efforts. Alex Hitchings competed in the under 16 category, tratitionally a difficult category to succeed in due to the large number of entrants. Alex performed the competition of his life, producing skills and holding strength moves that he was simply unable to do in the club. He was like a gymnast on a mission and could not put a foot wrong. His adrenalin rush lasted through the whole competition and Alex collected 5 gold medals his only slip up was a rather poor vault which merited a 4th place. His overall tally was good enough to give him a Gold in the All Round Champion category.

Level 2 Competition: Claire Poole competedIn the female section in the under 21 age group. She competed on Floor, Vault, Beam and Uneven bars. Clair traditionally finds the beam her most difficult piece especially the jumps however she kept her nerve and stayed on through the whole routine to collect a bronze. She also collected bronze on her Uneven bar routine performing a lovely tuck finish. Clairs first vault was very well performed although she let herself down with her second vault where her straddle could have been a lot wider. She collected a silver for this as she did for her floor, which was a very well executed and neat routine.Her total of two silvers and two bronzes allowed her to collect an All Round Silver medal

Mark Hughes competed in the Under 16 category in all 6 pieces. Mark performed a textbook rings and Floor routine to collect 2 golds. Although on the high bar a slight slip up on the upward circle from hang,was penalised, this was offset by his dismount which was fast and high. He soared through the air to collect further gold. Silvers on the Pommels and Parallel Bars secured a Gold in the All Round Champion category

Mark Hughes (centre) winning the All Round National Level 2 Champion title
Coach Jane Whetnall was very pleased with the overall results at the gymnastics competition

"To win a total of 21 gold, 14 silver and 4 bronze medals was remarkable considering the young age of our team. To return with two All Round National champions, two 'runners up' and an All Round bronze was much better than we had predicted. The comparitive youth of the team can often place us at a disadvantage however if the present team stay together II can expect great things from them in the future".

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Claire Poole wins All Round runner up title.